U.N.'s Arab League envoy Brahimi resigns

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (UPI) --Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations-League of Arab States' special envoy, has resigned, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Tuesday.

Ban said the departure of Brahimi, who for the past two years has attempted to mediate the turmoil in Syria, is "a tragedy for the Syrian people," as well as a failure for the U.N. He referred to strains as "hopelessly divided."

Brahimi, who was present at the briefing at which his resignation was announced, added he was "very, very sad to leave Syria in such a bad state," noting more death and destruction would occur "before Syria can become a new Syria."

Ban added Brahimi, 80, an Algerian diplomat, faced almost impossible odds in mediating in a region whose people, as well as the international community, are "hopelessly divided in their approaches to ending the conflict."

The Syria conflict, which began in 2011, has claimed over 100,000 lives. Over 680,000 have been injured and over 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. It has also begun a refugee crisis in which 2.5 million people have taken refuge in other countries.

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.